Summer 2024 is approaching its end, with locals and visitors alike getting in their last trips to the beach, final hikes in the woods, or even that quick visit to their favorite small town to finish off the “vacation” season. Autumn will soon be upon us, bringing with it falling leaves and (hopefully) a chill in the air, complete with spooky movie screenings. But until then, it’s still warm weather, and whether between picnics and lakeside hangs, or after a long day at work, there’s no better way to stay cool than taking advantage of the awesome selection of local, independent movie theaters in the Hudson Valley and the varying lineup of cinema they have to offer.
Here are five movie events to check out this August at a bunch of your favorite indie cinemas throughout the Hudson Valley.
Amadeus w/ Tom Hulce
This month, as part of the Revival House film program, Upstate Starr Cinema is presenting a screening of arguably one of the greatest movies of all time: Amadeus. The 1984 film, directed by Milos Forman, was an absolute sensation upon its release, garnering loads of awards and nominations, as well as an impressive box office and widespread acclaim. The film follows a fictional rivalry between the puckish but talented Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the older ever-scheming Antonio Salieri, two composers competing for the admiration of Emperor Joseph II, as well as the populace of Vienna. Lies, betrayal, lust, and comedy all ensue, with phenomenal performances from Tom Hulce as Mozart and F. Murray Abraham as Salieri, both of whom were nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actor at the 57th Oscars. Abraham won the award alongside Forman for Best Director and Best Picture. Get your tickets before they sell out; Tom Hulce will be there after the screening for an intimate conversation as part of the Close Up series.
Amadeus w/ Tom Hulce screens August 2 at Upstate Starr Cinema.
2nd Annual Hudson Film Festival
The Hudson Film Festival returns for its second year, presenting an accessible and inclusive series of movies while serving as a platform that champions and showcases underrepresented films and filmmakers both local and global. The festival directly contributes to the greater mission of the organization: launching the Hudson Valley Film Institute, which aims to provide educational opportunities for artists in the region, as well as community-based film programming and events throughout the year.
This city wide festival kicks off with The Supremes At Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat from writer/director Tina Mabry, which tells a touching story about the unbreakable bonds of lifelong female friendship. The festival’s commitment to showcasing local artists is represented by Hudson’s very own Zia Anger, whose screening of the hilarious and genre-bending My First Film is an immediate crowd pleaser.
Other feature-length screenings include the Sundance award-winning documentary Daughters, from Angela Patton and Natalie Rae, the Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning documentary A New Kind of Wilderness, from Silje Evensmo Jacobsen, a 15th anniversary screening of Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox, and the Cannes Film Festival award-winning The Taste of Things, from writer/director Anh Hung Tran. Also featured in the acclaimed shorts screenings are Essex Girls from Yero Timi-Biu and Busayo Ige, and OMW by Mary Dauterman.
The Hudson Film Festival runs August 9 through 11 in Hudson, NY, at Time & Space Ltd, Hudson Hall, Park Theater, Half Moon, Basilica Hudson and Story Screen Cinema. Tickets and passes for the festival are on sale now.
Last Summer (L’Été dernier)
French filmmaker Catherine Breillat returns to the directing chair for the first time in 10 years with her phenomenal and boundary-pushing erotic drama, Last Summer. A remake of the 2019 Danish film, Queen of Hearts (Dronningen), Last Summer explores the taboos and inner workings of a sexual relationship that occurs between a stepmother and her teenage stepson. Like many of Breillat’s previous works, the director aims to expose the slight irrationalities of cultural beliefs, and does so with a command of the camera that continues to be unprecedented. Breillat never hesitates to get too close or linger a little too long on moments that make your brain boil or skin crawl, while still treating viewers to delicate moments of endearing love and powerful intimacy between her characters. Lead actors Lea Drucker, Olivier Rabourdin, and Samuel Kircher all give unbelievable performances in a film that is destined to be a heavy contender for France’s official entry for this year’s awards season.
Last Summer starts August 16 at The Moviehouse.
Drive
An unnamed Hollywood stunt driver for action movies moonlights as a getaway driver for some pretty nefarious folks in Nicolas Winding Refn’s best feature, Drive. Released in 2011, it was an instant cult favorite, and one of the first instances when major audiences saw what actor Ryan Gosling could do outside of the heartthrob atmosphere he had become stuck in after the success of The Notebook seven years later. These days, after having been nominated for and won several major acting awards, Gosling is considered one of the most talented and bankable performers of his generation, and it all started, (in a way) with his stone cold performance as The Driver, who speaks only 891 words in 116 lines over the course of the entire film. That’s an average of about seven words per sentence. That’s not a lot. Refn instead relies on Gosling’s inarguable charm, methodically honed body language, and emotionally charged eyes to convey all that is needed to understand, or not understand, what his character is thinking. Tremendous performances by an insane supporting cast of Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks, Ron Perlman, Albert Brooks, and an early Oscar Isaac appearance, makes Drive one of the best experiences you could have with a movie. It’s also got a banger of a soundtrack.
Drive screens August 18 at Jacobs Burns Film Center, and they’re also showing Richard Rush’s immaculately awesome 1980 film, The Stunt Man, earlier in the day, so you’ve got a perfect double feature opportunity right there.
Jurassic Park
In 1993, Steven Spielberg changed the world, again (Jaws). (Also not for the last time (Saving Private Ryan.)) The dinosaur CGI fest that is Jurassic Park has not diminished in enjoyability or impressiveness, even after over 30 years of advancements in special effects in film and cinema. There’s never not a good time to watch paleontologists Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) babysit two kids (Hudson Valley native Joseph Mazzello and Ariana Richards), along with an eccentric CEO (Richard Attenborough) and a shirtless chaotician (Jeff Goldblum), all while trying to avoid being eaten by every dinosaur you can imagine. Groundbreaking special effects, charming performances, and an award-winning score from John Williams continue to make this film an entertaining experience like no other, and like all movies, it’s only better on the big screen.
Jurassic Park screens August 23 at The Crandell Theatre.
